Product Award

AHCCÂ® Wins Nutracon Award for Best New Product of 2002

Japanese Medicinal Mushroom Extract Recipient of NutrAward PURCHASE, N.Y., March 14, 2002 - Quality of Life Labs is the proud recipient of the Nutracon Best New Product of 2002 award, the esteemed NutrAward, for AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound). AHCC is a Japanese medicinal mushroom extract used to support the immune system. Nutracon is the leading educational and networking event for top-level executives in the cosmeceutical, dietary supplement, nutraceutical and functional/medical foods industries. Award selection criteria included scientific merit, efficacy, safety, innovation, market potential and credibility to advance industry.

AHCC has been very successful in Japan for the past 15 years," stated Steve Yamada, president of Quality of Life Labs. We are hopeful that this award will bring more light to AHCC so that those in the United States and other countries can benefit from its unique health properties." AHCC is derived from a highly specialized manufacturing process developed in the mid-1980s that relies on the hybridization of several species of mushrooms cultivated in Japan. According to industry analysts in Japan, currently over 700 hospitals and medical clinics recommend AHCC to patients in that country as part of an immune enhancement maintenance regimen, creating a $150 million (USD) industry.

AHCC has been the subject of hundreds of clinical studies conducted at prestigious Japanese institutions such as Hokkaido University, Kyorin University and Teikyo University. Several studies are taking place at institutions such as Columbia Presbyterian and Faulkner Hospital. The recent formation of the AHCC Research Association, serves as a catalyst to encourage more studies in North America as well as patient education about the benefits of the nutritional supplement. Since 1994, over 350 medical doctors and researchers gather in Sapporo, Japan, for the annual International AHCC Research Association Symposium. Quality of Life Labs, sister company to Maypro Industries located in Purchase, New York is the sole U.S. distributor of AHCC.